Type of modern slavery
Forced Criminality
Victims coerced into committing crimes — drug trafficking, theft, online scam operations — on behalf of traffickers, then often prosecuted for it.
SlaveryMap documents 63 cases of forced criminality.
Poipet, Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia
215 foreigners freed from three-storey scam building. 109 Thais 50 Pakistanis 48 Indians. Largest single-building rescue Accused: Cross-border scam syndicate.
Myawaddy, Kayin, Myanmar
260 people from 20 nationalities rescued from cyber scam compounds. Victims from Ethiopia Kenya Philippines Pakistan forced to run online fraud Accused: Chinese-national criminal syndicates operating border compounds.
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
Indian nationals rescued from scam compound after being recruited with fake IT job offers. Passports confiscated beaten for failing quotas Accused: Indian-Chinese recruitment network.
Myawaddy, Myanmar
Following a 2023 crackdown on cyber scam compounds along the China-Myanmar border, an estimated 45,000 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in forced scam operations were repatriated to China. Accused: Chinese and Myanmar-based cyber scam syndicates operating compounds in northern Shan state.
Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Malaysian citizens rescued from cybercrime compounds. Lured with fake job ads passports confiscated forced to run scam call centers Accused: Chinese-run criminal operations in casino compounds.
Needville, Texas, USA, United States
Albaro Estrada Dominguez and Mario-Beltran Torres are facing charges of conspiracy to commit hostage taking. Following their arrest, 14 people were discovered inside Needville home, according to ICE. All were held against their will. Thirteen were from Guatemala and one was from El Salvador. Dominguez and Torres are two of five suspects believed to be involved in this operation. In this case, investigators say the undocumented immigrants were being held for ransom. Investigators say the suspects had guns and threatened to kill those they were allegedly holding against their will. It's not surprising neighbors were not suspicious. "They didn't let the people they were detaining there mingle around outside," said Chief Craig Brady with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. "They'd bring them in under the cover of darkness, keep them inside the house, so no one knew they were there." Investigators say the coyotes contacted their loved ones and were attempting to extort more money than they'd already paid, in exchange for their safe release. Chief Brady explained, "The initial charge was supposed to have been $1,000, and they were wanting an additional $2,500."
Kenya, Kenya
Yes, Law Enforcement was involved. Mutei was taken into custody where he pleaded guilt to both charges of abduction and human trafficking. He was sentenced to 17 years in jail and a $50,000 fine.
Brownsville, Texas, USA, United States
Rogelio Serrano-Lara, 21, or Matamoros, Mexico, , appeared before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Nov. 15, 2011. Judge Hanen sentenced Serrano-Lara to 120 months in federal prison for his role in an alien smuggling/transportation conspiracy According to court documents, on Sept. 26, 2011 as part of the sentencing hearing, the government presented six witnesses in support of an upward departure of the U.S. sentencing guidelines. Among the witnesses that testified was a 29-year-old woman from El Salvador who stated she was raped by Serrano-Lara. Additional testimony was presented by her daughter and law enforcement officials. Serrano-Lara faced a maximum of 37 months in prison based on the U.S. sentencing guidelines, but upon hearing from the government's witnesses previously and the defense on Oct. 31, 2011 the judge enhanced his sentencing to 120 months. Serrano-Lara pleaded guilty on June 9. 2011 to transporting an alien within the United States. On April 27, 2011 during Serrano-Lara's plea hearings, the government's evidence indicated that ICE HSI received information concerning a stash house used for harboring illegal aliens. Upon attempting a consensual search of a residence on Sybil Street in Brownsville, multiple subjects fled, but agents managed to arrest 13 illegal aliens. Further investigation led to the indictment of Hector Josue Velasquez-Cruz, 29, of Honduras, for concealing or harboring a certain illegal alien for commercial advantage and private financial gain. According to court documents, Velasquez-Cruz admitted to being the caretaker of the residence for four months in exchange for passage to Houston. At the time of his arrest, 34 illegal aliens had arrived and departed from the stash house during the 17 days Velasquez-Cruz had served as caretaker of the Sybil residence. The investigation also revealed that Yered Esquivel-Medina, 23, of Michoacan, Mexico, had arrived at the residence on the date of the apprehensions. He served as the brush guide for the illegal aliens during their trip to Houston by guiding them around the U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. Through interviews, the agents learned that the 29-year-old woman and her family had traveled by bus to Reynosa, Mexico, crossed the river on the following day, and were eventually transported to the Sybil residence by Serrano-Lara. Upon arrival at the Sybil residence, Serrano-Lara patted them down one by one and robbed them of their money. Later, when the woman's 21-year-old niece and 13-year-old daughter began to cry, Serrano-Lara threatened to kill them and told them he was with the Zetas. Court records revealed, the El Salvadorian woman was in the kitchen on her second day at the Sybil residence when Serrano-Lara pulled her into the smaller bedroom and told her to surrender herself to him. When she refused, he threatened to rape her daughter instead. She explained how she felt she had no choice and Serrano-Lara proceeded to sexually assault her. During the investigation of Serrano-Lara, other illegal aliens reported that he had robbed them of their money as they arrived at the residence and were transported in the trunk of the vehicle. Velasquez-Cruz pleaded guilty on June 9 to harboring an illegal alien and was sentenced last month to 15 months in prison. Esquivel-Medina pleaded guilty on July 27 to conspiracy to transport and harbor an alien within the United States. He is pending sentencing for Dec. 15. All three men have been in custody since their arrest.
Woodico Court, Houston, TX, United States
Harris County SO received information about illegal aliens being held against their will. Deputies found 2 females. One had been smuggled into the US for $2500. Defendants were recruiting illegals from Mexico, paying their smuggling fee, and forcing the aliens to work off the debt by selling pirated CDs and DVDs. The victims lived with the defendants and were assaulted, threatened, and intimidated with threatening phone calls to their families in Mexico.
Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Brazil
The human trafficking ring in question would charge Brazillian emigrants up to $15,000 for false documents and to be smuggled into the U.S. There, members of the gang would abduct the emigrants and demand ransom for them from their families. The U.S. Consulate reported, “They left from Brazil and went initially to Guatemala, from where J.C.'s coyotes (migrant smugglers) guided the clients across Mexico to the border with the United States border.” In some of the cases, migrants were abducted in Texas, and their families were asked for ransoms of up to $10,000. The abducted migrants were often tortured or threatened with mutiliation. Investigations began when J.C. was arrested on charges of forging passports in July 2010. Subsequently, twelve members of the gang were arrested. Ten of those arrests took place in Governador Valadares.
Chertsey Close, Luton, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
James Watt, 27, his girlfriend, Natasha Oldfield, 29, and his brother Richard's girlfriend, Nichola Roberts, 22, were jailed FOR LIFE for murder today Watt will serve a minimum of 36 years, Oldfield a minimum of 18 and Roberts a minimum of 15. James's brother, Robert Watt, 20, and his mother, Jennifer Smith-Dennis, 58, were jailed for eight years and 10 years respectively for familial homicide. A third brother, Richard Watt, 25, who previously pleaded guilty to familial homicide was sentenced to six years in prison. James, Robert and Richard Watt had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and, on Friday, Roberts, Oldfield and Smith-Dennis were convicted by the jury.
Phoenix, AZ, United States
A coalition of agencies called IIMPACT, which includes the DPS, Phoenix police and federal immigration officials, began investigating the home following a tip of a possible drophouse near 79th Avenue and Camelback Road, said Bart Graves, a media relations coordinator for the Department of Public Safety. Authorities served a search warrant at the home about 1 p.m. Wednesday. When authorities arrived, five men and a woman who were believed to have held the immigrants scattered, Graves said. It took authorities about 20 minutes to find all the suspects and clear the area, but they were all eventually located and arrested on suspicion of human smuggling. The victims – two women, 11 men and three male juveniles ranging from elementary-school age to the 15-year-old boy who apparently traveled alone – appeared to be in relatively good condition. The victims were from El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, Graves said. In addition, the victims said they had been at another house where they suffered from violent acts. Authorities were still trying to locate that house. It is not uncommon to find more drophouses after the initial one, according to DPS. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/06/02/20100602west-phoenix-drophouse-abrk.html#ixzz0uLWDYq3z http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_phoenix_metro/central_phoenix/6-arrested-for-human-smuggling-at-west-phoenix-drop-house http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/immigration/drop-house-bust-in-west-phoenix-6-2-2010
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, Mozambique
A woman tried to smuggle the head and genitalia of a 10 year old boy across the border, hidden inside a plastic bag within a cooler full of food.
Walmart, Salinas, CA, United States
Fousek allegedly approached two women outside Walmart and asked if they'd like to purchase his 6 month old daughter for $25.00. The two woman took the license place number and reported him to the police.
Somalia, Somalia
The female victim disappeared while going to school as usual from Qardho in northeast Putland. She was found where she had been trafficked to in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The girl has been returned home to her family, who were glad to receive her.
Aflao, Ghana, Togo
The priest volunteered to free his shrine servants with the collaboration of Every Child Ministries after he became a Christian. The victim in this case was a 55 year old woman who was taken into the shrine "very young" by her father, but never knew the reason. Because of this she was never able to attend school.
Afao, Ghana, Togo
The Kadza Yeve shrine took in "yevesi" shrine servants, a form of ritual servitude. As Yeve, every part of the victim's life is strictly controlled by the shrine and there are substantial punishments for offenses. The priest freed the 55 shrine servants associated with the shrine on March 25, 2010, after becoming a Christian.
Craig, CO 81625-1214, United States
Louis Peroulis, Stanley Peroulis and Crisologo Damian. The Peroulis' own the farm where the sheepherders were held. Damian is the recruiter. They recruit sheepherders from Peru under a legal governmental agency but then charge exorbitant fees for the travel and keep the workers in terrible conditions without access to their travel documents.
Fayetteville, AR, United States
a company placed a ad on cragi's list for young men and women to travel and sell magazines door to door. Tow victims answered the ad and got the job and after which they became victims of trafficking.
California, United States
The defendant forced Filipino victims to work in her elderly care business and confiscated their passports, threatening them if they left
Moreno Valley, California, United States
Current investigation of human trafficking ring
Austin, Texas, United States
The article: AUSTIN (KXAN) - A victim of a suspected human trafficking ring escapes, appearing at a North Austin convenience store bloody and wearing very little clothing. One man, 44-year-old Santiago Ramirez Cruz, is charged with unlawful restraint expose to serious bodily injury and immigration and naturalization service detainer, both felony charges. Austin police say the victim escaped through the window of the Mi Casa apartment complex at 7200 Duval Street. The victim stopped for help a couple of blocks away at the Haven Food Mart at 614 East St. Johns Avenue. The victim had injuries to the hands from breaking the glass during the escape. The family allegedly paid the suspected smugglers $2,100 to bring the victim into the country.
Rukai District, Uganda, Uganda
The child was used for 18 months in the shrine. Then her eye teeth were cut out of her jaw for use in ritual "magic", she was stuffed into a bag and discarded in the next province, the Masaka District. A woman saw the bag and detected movement. She found the child in terrible condition, covered in her own excrement. The child's neck showed signs of having been tied tightly with a rope over a long period of time. The woman cleaned the child up, took her to a hospital for treatment, and contacted the police.
LAFAYETTE, IN, United States
Omar Luna-Valencia, 32-year-old, was stopped on I-65 in an SUV with 11 passengers, four were children. Luna-Valencia admitted he was attempting to smuggle illegal aliens from Phoenix to Chicago.
Escondido, California, United States
“In the early hours of April 15, officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement knocked on the door of 1809 Cortez Ave. Inside the single-family home, they say they found eight illegal immigrants imprisoned in a back bedroom. The room's doors had been wired shut and its windows had been boarded up. The men had recently been smuggled across the Mexican border, officials say. Testimony from a woman operating the safe house would later reveal that 31 men had been held in the home three days before. Agents had been led to the house by a scrap of paper. The previous evening, about 35 miles south of Escondido in San Diego's Barrio Logan, two men had arrived at a house on Franklin Street, according to police reports. Police allege the men brought with them Martin Guadarama, an illegal immigrant from Mexico whom they had smuggled into the country a few days before. The men, Luis Camacho Ventura and Mateo Alvarado, were there to pick up a ransom payment. Police officers said they had called Guadarama's wife demanding $1,300 and threatening to kill their hostage. "They told her they would dismember her husband and spread him all over the city if she didn't pay," said Lt. John Leas of the San Diego Police Department's robbery division. Guadarama's wife called the SDPD and, when the smugglers arrived to collect the money, they were apprehended by police officers. The officers searched the men, finding a letter addressed to Ventura at the Escondido address. Alvarado also had a handcuff key and a large amount of money, police say. Guadarama told the detectives that other immigrants were being held at the house against their will (Carless).”
Chiang Rai, Thailand, Thailand
Noi Noi comes from a very poor family in the northeastern part of Thailand. She is the oldest of 4 children. Her father is an alcoholic and is very aggressive when drunk. He would consistently beat the whole family. After several years her mother could not handle the situation any longer and invited Noi to take poison so that they would die together. Noi was afraid. Not long after that her mother committed suicide. Noi was 9 years old. From then on Noi became her father’s “wife”. Many times a week her father abused her and he also invited his friends over to do the same. From the age of 9 till 12 her life was all misery. With no mother, no protection; she had to take care of her younger siblings.
Sea of Japan, Russian Federation
“In December 2005, 25 Ukrainian victims were found on a Russian fishing boat in the Sea of Japan. Recruiters lured men, ages 18 to 50, from poor fishing communities on the Black Sea with promises of good pay for work aboard industrial fishing vessels. Once at sea, however, the men were forced at gunpoint to work extremely long days without pay. They were deprived of sleep and physically and psychologically abused. They were deprived of food and water if they refused to work and sometimes consumed crab bait, consisting of raw fish, sea water, and melted ice water to survive. Although the vessel served as a perfect prison, their passports were confiscated. The victims were found and rescued when a Russian Coast Guard crew boarded the vessel to search for illegal poached crabs. They found the victims exhausted and half-starved, locked in the ship’s hold along with three tons of illegally poached crab.”
Chiang Rai, Thailand, Thailand
The Mirror Foundation was given information about the child. They rescued him, and are now helping him get an education at the local school for disabled.
stockholm, Sweden
A 28 years old man from Ukraine who due to an accident lost both arms, he was offered a job in an office in Moscow. However, he was trafficked and ended up begging--first in Estonia, then in Holland and Spain, then he ended up in the Stockholm subway, and outside a large church in Uppsala (Livets Ord. He wore a sign saying ”Please help me to get an operation”. He may have earned up to Skr 1 milj (about US $150 000)for the traffickers from his begging. The victim finally succeeded to escape by jumping off a train just as it left Stockholm and contacted the police.
York county, United States
The two were threatened with exposure to immigration officials, according to the federal charges. here is a link to an article http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/story.aspx?articleid=37187&zoneid=3
Rckingham County, NC, United States
Article Text: "Rockingham County, NC -- Investigators arrested a man they say kidnapped a woman and refused to let her leave. Rockingham County Sheriff's Department says 46-year-old Wendy Autwell told them she was held against her will for three months at a home in Stoneville. Autwell says Larry McIntyre threatened her life and the lives of her children and grandchildren. The arrest warrant says Autwell was "held as a hostage, terrorized and held in involuntary servitude." Deputies arrested McIntyre and charged him with First Degree Kidnapping. He was placed on a $500,000 bond and an additional $10,000 for a Probation Violation." Original Article Link: http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=130675&catid=57
Johor Baru, Malaysia
Malaysian immigration officials discovered a major human trafficking syndicate when authorities detained 116 Indian and Sri Lankan citizens believed to be headed for Indonesia en route to Australia, official news reports said. The men and women, aged between seven months and 50 years old, were staying at an apartment in the southern state of Johor, said state immigration deputy director Muhammad Ali Abdullah. "More than 20 rooms were occupied by the foreigners, believed to be rented by smuggling agents. It is believed that three of the agents were also living at the place but they escaped during the raid," Muhammad Ali was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
Brandenton, FL, United States
Manatee Sheriffs office, I.C.E., and F.B.I. were all involved in the investagation which lead to the arrest of both traffickers.
Bawdie, Ghana, Ghana
A resident of Brepro Nkwanta near Bawdie in the Wassa Amenfi East District of the Western Region admitted to attempting to sell a man, a carpenter of the same village for traditional ritual purposes. The Inspector said on June 19, 2007, the complainant received a call from Tekpey who informed him (the complainant) that he lied when he said he wanted him to assist him secure a kiosk, rather he wanted him (the complainant) to assist him sell the man in the Sewfi area where a human head could be exchanged for a KIA vehicle.
Johannesburg South Africa, South Africa
A 38-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were arrested at a house in Rail street, Florida on Johannesburg's West Rand. It is alleged that the couple abducted a 19-year-old female who was brought into South Africa from Zimbabwe about a week ago under the pretext that she was going to be employed. The couple then demanded R1800 ransom money from the woman's brother.
East Riverside Drive Austin TX, United States
43-year-old Ismael Alvarez and several other men held the three victims in an apartment on East Riverside Drive after the victims had crossed illegally into the country in September, according to the affidavit. Ismael Alvarez was arrested.
Tucson, United States
ROGERS was then arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and formally charged Tuesday with attempting to travel to Mexico to engage in illicit sexual behavior with a minor
Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=10584240 15 people have been arrested for charges of child pornography. It is possible that 10 more people could be arrested.
Moorefield @ 6 1/2 mile road, Alton, TX just nort of McAllen, United States
Victor Campuzano, age 23, of Houston, Texas rented three pick up trucks from National and Hertz rental companies at Bush Intercontinental Airport. National has been fully cooperative, providing all records of the transaction. Campuzano is also forfeiting his personal vehicle to law enforcement. He has been arraigned and will go to trial some time between Oct 2009 and June of 2010. Campuzano posted the $10,000 bond in cash. McAllen detectives expect him to plea bargain out.
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, Mozambique
When border police searched a woman’s bags, she got upset. The police then searched further and found adult male genitalia hidden within the bags of manioc.
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, Mozambique
A woman attempted to cross the Mozambique/South Africa border with several children’s heads inside plastic bags in the car trunk, hidden under capulanas (traditional clothing, ed.).
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, South Africa
A man of 27/28 years attempted to smuggle 5 male genitalia across the Mozambique border, and was caught on the South African side.
Magude, Mozambique, Mozambique
Interview with the Police Officer in Xinavane District, Maputo Province LDH: We would like to talk about the child’s case. Police: [...] they had found a body of a child in the Tsatsimbe River. [...] It was late afternoon. We had some difficulties like transportation, [...] we went there and […] we saw that it was a body of a child. The body was taken from the water […]. Then we tried to follow the story and we found out that it was a boy that was going to a house to watch a movie. When he went back home and entered his house, someone, who was already following him, grabbed him and pulled him out of the house. He killed him and threw his body into the water. [...] LDH: Was that when you arrived there to see the body? Police: Yes. […] We saw that the body had been opened, didn’t have the heart and didn’t have almost all the organs. [...] Then the Police worked and managed to arrest a suspect. LDH2: Regarding the child’s case, do you know the destiny of the organs? The reason why they extracted the organs? Police: No. We didn’t find the organs. They were already gone.
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, Mozambique
A woman tried to smuggle female and male genitalia which were wrapped up in matapa leaves across the South African/Mozambique border. She was caught on the South African side of the border.
Tsangano, Mozambique, Malawi
http://www.ldh.org.mz/index.php/en/projects-and-research/trafficking-body-parts The interview was conducted at Tete hospital with a victim (Victim) of a mutilation. According to the victim, on 5th August 2008, he was passing alone by a cemetery when he felt a knock on his head. When he woke up his complete genitalia had been removed and he was bleeding profusely. He started crying and some people who lived there (in Tsangano) came and took him to the local hospital. In the morning an ambulance took him to Tete hospital. The victim stated that he had heard about identical cases and mentioned that in 2008, a man was murdered and his heart and genital organs were removed. In 2006, a similar case happened. The victim said that people sell those organs and that the ones who buy them use them to make treatments for wealth and business. LDH: Can you tell us what happened? Victim: It happened on Tuesday (5th August, 2008, ed.). I went to the market. On my way back from the market, I passed by a cemetery and felt a knock on the head. I woke up on the floor. They had taken me to a corner and I was fainted. My genital organs had been removed. When I woke up because of the wind […] I started to cry and people that live there came. The persons who heard me crying picked me up and took me. Someone climbed a tree and started calling other people. The ones who did it were close and so they started running when they heard people calling. So, I was taken to the hospital. In the morning they made a phone call, and an ambulance came and took me to the hospital. LDH: What time was it? More or less. Victim: At dusk. LDH: Were you alone? Victim: Yes, I was alone. LDH: Wasn’t there any movement of people? Victim: No. There was no movement. LDH: So, you only woke up after everything had happened? Victim: Yes. I woke up after everything had happened. LDH: Did you manage to see who did this?? Victim: No. LDH: What do you do there? Victim: I am a peasant. LDH: How old are you? Victim: 32 LDH: This type of cases, are these frequent? Victim: I have heard about it other times. […] The year before the last, another person died. Even now, that I am here (in hospital, ed), I heard that the same happened to another person. LDH: Those other cases, were they identical or did they remove other type of organs? Victim: This case now, they took the heart and the genital organs. LDH: And the case of the year before the last? Victim: They also took. Normally, they take the heart and the genital organs. LDH: In the case of the year before the last? Victim: Yes, they took the heart and the genital organs. LDH: What do you think they do with those organs? Victim: Business, they sell. LDH: The ones who buy, what do they do with those organs? Victim: They make treatments and medicine for wealth and business. LDH: Did they take your organs or they left them? Victim: They took them. LDH: Did they cut it completely? Victim: They cut it completely. They put a knife here, and then here and took the testicles and even. I have nothing now (the victim proceeded to show the male interviewer the wound).
Bloemspruit, South Africa, South Africa
http://www.ldh.org.mz/index.php/en/projects-and-research/trafficking-body-parts This interview was conducted in Bloemspruit with a woman who confirmed she was instructed by a “Sangoma” (Traditional Healer) to use children’s fingers and penises, which she wore as a belt under her clothes to solve a problem she had with a pregnancy. Previous to the visit to the Sangoma, she appeared to be pregnant and then suffered a miscarriage. However, she seemed not prepared to accept this and despite visits to hospitals and clinics who confirmed she was not actually pregnant, she instead visited a Sangoma who made a belt for her. From the belt hung two fingers and three penises from children. She was also instructed to drink a concoction she believed contained human blood and fat and she was given a piece of flesh which she believed to be a human organ, perhaps a heart. She sliced small pieces from the flesh each night and fried them on a stove. She followed these instructions for about one month and became ill, burnt the items prescribed by the Sangoma and went to hospital. Interviewer: Have you ever used the Traditional Healers? Informant: Yes Interviewer: Do you mind telling us about your visit to the Traditional Healer? Informant: I went to that Sangoma and he gave me Muti to drink, a mixture of herbs. And another Muti that I had to burn at night. Interviewer: Can you say what kind of Muti did you have to burn at night? Informant: That Muti looked like a person’s heart. You could see that it was like a heart from a person. Interviewer: So it was something for you to drink and then it was something for you to burn at night? Informant: That Muti to drink, it was three bottles. Those bottles when I was drinking that Muti, it looked like blood. I don’t know what to say, because when I was drinking I wanted to vomit. I wanted to vomit that Muti. I was starting to be scared. I thought I cannot drink this. Interviewer: And were you drinking it from a cup or out from the bottle. Informant: From a cup. Then the Traditional Healer, he gave me a belt with fingers and penises of children. It looked like a necklace with penises and fingers hanging. Interviewer: So, it was a finger and a penis, a finger and a penis and they were they all sewed to the belt? Informant: Yes. Interviewer: Were they dry or wet? Informant: Dry. Interviewer: Are you able to tell me how many fingers and how many penises were hanging from the belt? Informant: Two fingers and three penises. Interviewer: How could you say these fingers and penises were from children? Informant: They were very small, very small. Interviewer: Couldn’t it be from animals? Informant: No, they were human. I know human penises. Interviewer: Do you feel that everything that the Traditional Healer gave you has helped? Informant: No. Interviewer: Can you tell me if the Traditional Healer charged you any price? Informant: R4000 in cash (approximately US$ 400, ed.). Interviewer: Going back to the belt, can you describe it a bit more? Informant: It was a brown belt. On the front it had the penises and fingers hanged and on the back it had a pillow with needles. Interviewer: Did you ever take it out or were you wearing all the time? Informant: All the time. Always. Interviewer: How long were you using the belt and using this Muti? Informant: I used it only for one month. Interviewer: That time that the Traditional Healer gave you that Muti did you ask what was it? What was inside? Informant: No, I was so desperate. Interviewer: Can that be because you didn’t want to know? Informant: I was so sick, so sick…that if someone told me to go to the toilet and eat I would do it. Interviewer: Where do you think those fingers and penises came from? Informant: They kill the babies.
Bucuresti Romania and Ireland, Romania
In July 2008 Detectives from the Garda National Immigration Bureau were backed up by officers from the Wexford division in the investigation. The Romanian Police were also a part of the investigation. The immigration bureau investigated several crime gangs last year that were suspected of using human trafficking and then discovered the violence used by the Romanian gypsies. When the initial raid happened in July, there were numerous arms confiscated from the Romanians.
Kepong, Malaysia, Malaysia
Hytex Factory is one of the largest t-shirt companies in Malaysia, along with other parts of the world. They had contracts with Nike, Disney, Gap, ELLE, Asics, Levi's, Warner Brothers, Ellers and others. Workers came from Burma, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Sri Linka. Once there, their passports were confiscated, they were in debt bondage from recruitment fees, forced to live in small, dirty quarters (about 25 to a room and 350 people to one bathroom) and forced to sign a three-year contract in a language they did not understand, trapping them their for several years, unable to pay off their debts with the minute wages they were given.
Schleswig, Germany, A7 motorway, Germany
Police stopped a van with Swedish license plates on the A7 motorway to find 31 Iraqi men, aged 15 to 30 in the cargo room. They were in a miserable condtion and were set to be trafficked to Scandinavia. This was the fifth such case on that route in five months.
Berlin Herzbergstr. 128, Dong Xuan Center, Germany
A gang of 30 Vietnamese, two Germans and Czech citizen were using several places in Berlin and in the States of Brandenburg and Saxony for trafficking at least 130 Vietnamese people via Russia and the Czech Republic. While their hideouts in Germany were used as a stop, the "shipment" was destined for France or the UK. According to the police the Dong Xuan Center, a large Asian market in Berlin, was playing a key role in the business.
Borough of Queens, New York, United States
Authorities were contacted multiple times before the workers were finally emancipated. Some of the first to report their suspicions were neighbors of the crime family. They noticed and reported domestic violence they saw suspected from the house. The neighbors also realized that an unsually large amount of people lived in one house. All 62 victims lived in one house, including 12 children, and three pregnant women. At first, neighbors were too scared to call police because they thought that the Mexicans were illegal aliens. When police began to make searches of the house, they came during working hours, while no one was home. As of 2006, 27 of the victims still inhabited the US. Two of the ringleaders in the crime, a decade after the fact, were given 13 year sentences, although there likely sentences will be five years. However, the Paoletti-Lemus ramily was court ordered to give out $1.4 million in restitution.
Manila, Philippines, Philippines
Police raided the house after members of the gang were arrested at the Manila airport where they were trying to send five girls to clients in the Middle East using fake documents. The victims rescued at the airport told police they had been held for several weeks at a house, and the raid on that house uncovered the other 20 victims.
Tachilek, Myanmar, Thailand
It is in process now, in that the baby's mum has borrowed money and is now on the way to get the baby back.
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, Mozambique
A couple (male 40, female 30) attempted to go across the border with the head and the genitalia of an adult man and the ribs of an adult. They hid them within three bags of vegetables.
Nampula City, Mozambique, Mozambique
http://www.ldh.org.mz/index.php/en/projects-and-research/trafficking-body-parts The LDH (Liga Moçambicana dos Direitos Humanos or Human Right’s League, Mozambique) conducted an interview in Nampula City with the family of a victim. The victim, “Mary” disappeared on a Friday in March, 2007. Her family found her uniform and scarf hanging on a shrub and discovered her body in the bushes nearby. The body was severely mutilated and had started decaying. It is believed the killers grabbed her while she was walking on the road, carried her about 300 meters inside the bushes, cut her throat, opened her stomach and took her genital organs, eyes, heart, tongue and breasts. The family has no opinion about the motives for this murder. Excerpt from the Interview: LDH1: And afterwards, did you have any information about the person that did that, was he or she caught?? Victim’s Brother-in-Law: We had no information.
Gresham, Oregon, United States
The FBI obtained 2 search warrants in November 2007 and February 2008 and searched Hoffman's residence and found the images on his computer and charged him with child exploitation and trafficking sexually explicit photos via the internet. He had 70 sex related charges filed against him. His wife was also arrested for tampering with the evidence. She had known since 2005 and had concealed the evidence and let him continue to care for the kids. She was released on probation but had her custody removed and Mark Hoffman was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 2009.
Detriot, Michigan, United States
Michail Aronov, 34, a Lithuanian national, was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for his role as a ringleader in an involuntary servitude and money laundering conspiracy. He was the last of nine convicted defendants to be sentenced for crimes associated with this conspiracy. He was convicted for conspiring to violate the civil rights of Eastern European women by forcing them to work as exotic dancers in Detroit-area strip clubs, as well as immigration and money laundering conspiracies. Aronov was also ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution to the victims. The court had previously ordered Aronov’s henchman, Aleksandr Maksimenko, to reimburse the dancers a total of $1,570,450. The court also ordered that $537,043 in cash seized from Maksimenko’s home and safety deposit boxes, as well as about $30,000 worth of jewelry, be used to satisfy a portion of the restitution award. Maksimenko received a 14-year prison sentence. His father, Venyamin Gonikman, remains a fugitive. Three other individuals were also previously sentenced as a part of this conspiracy.
Togo, Togo
A logal waga or recruiter lived in the victim's village in Central Togo. She was an older woman who took up to three girls to Nigeria every year to work selling on the streets. Sometimes the girls came back alone, sometimes with her. Some of the claimed to have made the equivalent of $55 a day. The victim wanted to earn money to enable her to take a vocaitonal apprenticeship, since her family was no longer able to pay for schooling for the children. The Waga agreed to pay for the victim's trip and deduct it from future wages. One night the victim took $3 from the family's money, packed a few clothes in a plastic bag and went to meet the waga. She and another girl and the waga walked to the highway and caught a car, changing vehicles and drivers many times. Eventually they ended up in Cotenou, a city in the southeast part of Benin near Nigeria. The girls were hidden for two days in a house, then smuggled into Nigeria in a car taking a back road.
Aflao Ghana, Togo
The practice of ritual or customary servitude was outlawed in Ghana in 1998, but the practical implementation of the law has fallen largely to NGO's who have facilitated the shrines in ending the practice. The NGO Every Child Ministries Ghana and negotiated with the Sovigbenor shrine and educated them as to the issues over a span of over a year, finally winning the approval of the shrine for the liberation of all 126 of its trokosi slaves on December 9, 2005. The liberation was a public event in which the shrine freed the slaves and agreed to end the practice of ritual servitude in that place. In this case a 37 year old woman was liberated who had been born in bondage to a trokosi. The practice of replacement demands that if a trokosi slave dies or runs away, she must be replaced by another girl from her family, so this child replaced her mother upon her death. Her story came out in the course of the liberation process. She was one of 126 women liberated from the Sovigbenor shrine.
parma, ohio, United States
Senior Pastor Richard G. Manning is the senior pastor of the Parma Baptist Church. He was arrested on a felonious rape charge. Police said he coerced a Thai immigrant into having sex by making her believe he could have her deported because she is not a U.S. citizen.
Lima, Peru, Peru
Through word-of-mouth, the girls heard about Generacíon. They went to the organization's house for street kids and spent time there until the house was closed on May 17th 2005.
Niu Valley, United States
During Girl Fest's protest at Hamaguchi's business address, which was his home address, police threatened to arrest the demonstrators for their peaceful demonstration on the sidewalk in front of the Hamaguchi residence/business address for Video Travel.
Esquimalt British Columbia, Canada
"In 1999, four dilapidated boats arrived off B.C.’s coastal waters carrying approximately 590 Chinese migrants. Among them, 134 children were travelling without parents or a legal guardian. Many of these children had families in China who were expecting them to work in Canada and the United States and send the money home. By definition, these children were trafficked. " http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/octip/identifying.htm